Not long ago, over at Pre-K Pages I shared a set of free, printable thematic book bin labels. These labels got me thinking about how important it is to also teach our children about the authors of the books we read to them. Every time a story is read to a child or a class the words title, author, and illustrator should be used. Children will begin to make connections between these things more quickly than you would think. When they understand what authors and illustrators do they develop a deeper understanding of books and literacy that will help them become authors and illustrators in the classroom. These skills are also included in the new Common Core Literacy Standards for kindergarten:
“RL.K.6. With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.”
I can’t tell you how excited my students became when they saw a picture of Jan Brett. They would shout “I know her! That’s the lady who wrote Gingerbread Baby!” Sometimes they would even compare people in their real lives to authors they loved, for example “He’s got a beard just like Eric Carle!” or “You wear glasses just like Lois Ehlert.” I think the best author connection was one day when a parent arrived to pick up her son in her car. When I opened the door I saw a Chihuahua puppy on the front seat; I commented on how cute he was and asked for his name. The little boy smiled and said “David Shannon.” That says it all folks!
To download this free printable click on the link below
Favorite Author Book Bin Labels
You can read more about how I organize the books in my classroom library HERE.